Greater Flint Health Coalition names Kirk D. Smith Interim Chief Executive Officer
February 4, 2010
On January 11, 2010, Kirk D. Smith was appointed Interim CEO of the Greater Flint Health Coalition (GFHC). Mr. Smith’s selection was announced by Michigan State Senator Deborah Cherry, Chair of the GFHC’s Board of Directors. He succeeds Stephen Skorcz, who recently retired after 12 years as the organization’s President & CEO.
“The Greater Flint Health Coalition Board has the utmost confidence that Kirk Smith will effectively lead our organization through this leadership transition,” Cherry added, noting that Mr. Smith has served as Vice President & Chief Operating Officer with a broad range of executive and programmatic responsibilities with the GFHC since joining the organization in 2005.
The Greater Flint Health Coalition is a 501(c)3 designated non-profit healthcare coalition whose two-fold mission is to improve the health status of Genesee County residents and to improve the quality and cost effectiveness of the health care delivery system in the community. Established in 1996, the GFHC is both a community/institutional partnership and multifaceted collaboration, with a Board membership that is a broad reflection of the community’s leadership – including government, hospitals, labor, business, insurers, physicians, education, consumers, and the faith-based community.
The Coalition’s vision is a healthy Genesee County community practicing healthy lifestyles with access to the best and most cost effective health and medical care. Since its formation in 1996, the GFHC has become a neutral table in which cutting-edge, collaborative initiatives related to health care access, quality, cost, and health improvement can be addressed to improve our community’s health status.
Smith, a native of Flint, Michigan, earned his bachelor’s degree in Psychology and master’s degree in Health Service Administration at the University of Michigan in 2002 and 2008, respectively. Smith and his wife, Stephanie, reside in Fenton with their son.
For additional information on the Greater Flint Health Coalition and its diverse programmatic initiatives related to improving the community’s health status, please visit the GFHC on the web at http://www.gfhc.org.
C.S. Mott Foundation Awards GFHC with $75,000 grant for Health Care Impact Study
December 8, 2009
The Greater Flint Health Coalition (GFHC) is pleased to announce a new $75,000 grant from the Charles Stewart Mott Foundation to support a Health Care Impact Study, which began in September 2009. In an effort to improve the health status of Genesee County & City of Flint residents and to improve the quality and cost-effectiveness of the healthcare delivery system, the GFHC is convening the Health Care Impact Subcommittee of the City of Flint Mayor's Local Auto Task Force. The Health Care Impact Study was undertaken to evaluate and address the impact of the automotive crisis on the community's healthcare delivery system and resident’s associated health status.
The study, being conducted by the GFHC and its consulting firm, The Lewin Group, will establish and compare a pre-economic crisis baseline and the current picture of the healthcare system in Genesee County, as well as project future impacts, while developing a process to monitor and intervene.
The end product of this study will be a community needs assessment relative to the health care delivery system. A resultant series of recommended strategies for how local healthcare system entities can collaboratively implement solutions and/or interventions to triage the impacts on health status and the healthcare system’s ability to supply services that meet the demand of the residents of the community will be developed. Upon analysis of these recommendations by the community’s health care and business leaders, an official request for federal aid to support the developed strategies will be submitted to Dr. Ed Montgomery, President Obama’s Director of Recovery for Auto Communities and Workers.
In addition to the $75,000 grant from the C.S. Mott Foundation, the GFHC’s major core funders – Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan, Genesys Health System, HealthPlus of Michigan, Hurley Medical Center, McLaren Regional Medical Center, and the United Auto Workers – provided matching funding that collectively made this community study possible.
The GFHC plans to complete the study by Spring 2010.
GFHC Advises President Obama on Health Reform, adopts Resolution on Universal Access to Health Care
JUNE 16, 2009
After months of stimulating a community dialogue on health care reform, the
Greater Flint Health Coalition's Board of Directors adopted an official
Resolution on Universal Access to Health Care on Monday, June 15, 2009.
The approved Resolution was finalized and adopted following months of
community-wide dialogue, input, and deliberations amongst community
leaders representing physicians, hospitals, business, organized labor,
government, educators, insurers, grassroots community organizations,
healthcare consumers, as well as the residents of Genesee County. Following
the Coalition Board’s adoption, the Resolution on Universal Access to Health
Care will be provided to President Barack Obama’s administration as they
continue to engage communities nationwide to come together to form
positions and provide input on health reform.
Specifically, the Coalition's position for health reform calls for:
- Universal access to health care for all citizens
- An end to the employer-based system of health coverage
- A benefit package which is as comprehensive as Congressional health plans
- A private, regulated insurance system
- The elimination of all means testing for the general public
- Funding through general taxation.
The Coalition's Resolution on Universal Access to Health Care contends that there is currently enough money in the healthcare system to cover every American if certain structural flaws are addressed through reform. For example, the United States currently spends 25 – 30% of every healthcare dollar on administration.
This past March, The Flint Journal reported that the Greater Flint Health Coalition was engaging the community in a dialogue regarding health care reform by circulating a "provocative" resolution throughout Genesee County. The public at-large and organizations were invited to provide feedback and contribute to revising the resolution with the goal being to ultimately send a community-wide recommendation to President Barack Obama and legislators regarding health care reform. The product of this activity is the Greater Flint Health Coalition’s Resolution on Universal Access to Health Care as adopted by the GFHC Board on June 15, 2009, which will now be forwarded to the Obama administration and other legislators.
Coincidently, as the resolution was about to be adopted as the official position of the Greater Flint Health Coalition, President Barack Obama called on the mayors of the United States to organize and engage communities nationwide around the importance of health reform under an effort entitled Mayors for Health Reform. The goals of this nationwide effort include:
- Create local momentum for health reform
- Educate communities on the need for health reform this year
- Listen to the voices and health care concerns of communities
- Advance the President's understanding of the health care problems Americans face and the solutions they propose
- Build support amongst peers and constituents for health reform.
The Coalition’s Resolution on Universal Access to Health Care meets the requirements of this request and will in turn be provided to the President’s administration in the coming days.
The Greater Flint Health Coalition and its Board of Directors would like to extend their most sincere gratitude to the residents of Flint and Genesee County as well as the numerous organizations which offered their thoughts and input regarding the resolution and the critical issue of health reform.
The Greater Flint Health Coalition is a non-profit 501(c)3 Michigan organization
established in 1992 whose mission is to improve the health status of Genesee County (Michigan) residents and to improve the quality and cost effectiveness of the County’s healthcare delivery system. The GFHC is both, a community/institutional partnership and a multifaceted collaboration with a Board of Directors that broadly reflects the community and its leadership – government, public health, hospitals, labor, business, insurers, physicians, the educational system, consumers, and faith-based organizations.
To read the full Resolution, please click here
Flint Healthcare Employment Opportunities (FHEO) Program offers free job training and tuition for Dislocated Workers interested in Health Care careers
MAY 1, 2009
Job Training & Tuition Available Now for Dislocated Workers Interested in Healthcare
On June 30, 2008, the United States Department of Labor announced a $2 million grant to Michigan to train 400 dislocated workers for
healthcare jobs. 250 of those workers will be trained by the Flint
Healthcare Employment Opportunities (FHEO) Program, a unique six-year old sector workforce development program of the Greater Flint
Health Coalition. Sector workforce development programs focus on a
specific industry, in this case healthcare, where employers direct and
manage the program.
Recruitment of dislocated workers has begun for the FHEO Program,
which assists Genesee County residents in obtaining educational and
employment opportunities in the healthcare industry. According to
the U.S. Department of Labor, a dislocated worker includes (but is
not limited to) an individual who: has been terminated or laid off; has
exhausted unemployment insurance; works at a facility that will close
within 180 days; was self-employed but is currently unemployed; or
is a displaced homemaker.
What will a dislocated worker receive under the FHEO Program?
A dislocated worker, who during a two-month period, will complete a healthcare career assessment and training process consisting of the following components:
- Skills Assessment including Reading and Math
- Suitability to Health Care Assessment
- Healthcare Career Exploration
- Skills for Returning to College Workshop
- Personal Finance Workshop
- Resume, Interview, and Presentation Skills Training
- Developmental Classes to promote Successful Job Performance
- Individualized Educational/Career Development Plan
All participants are eligible for support services (e.g. child care, transportation, case management, etc.) during this training
What is the career path?
After this two-month training, most dislocated workers will move on to college-level "classroom training" to pursue one of the following healthcare careers:
- Registered Nurse
- License Practical Nurses
- Radiological Technologist
- Medical Biller
- Pharmacy Technician
- Health Unit Coordinator
- Medical Assistant
- Dental Assistant
- Dental Hygienist
- Other in-demand healthcare career
Tuition, fees, and textbooks will be supported through funding from No
Worker Left Behind, Career Alliance, and U.S. Department of Labor.
The Greater Flint Health Coalition is a non-profit 501(c)3 Michigan organization established in 1992 whose mission is to improve the health status of Genesee County (Michigan) residents and to improve the quality and cost effectiveness of the County’s healthcare delivery system. The Coalition is both, a community/institutional partnership and a multifaceted collaboration with a Board of Directors that broadly reflects the community and its leadership – government, hospitals, labor, business, insurers, physicians, the educational system, consumers, and faith-based organizations. The Greater Flint Health Coalition Board of Directors is chaired by Michigan State Senator Deborah Cherry.
Coalition President & CEO Stephen Skorcz states, "this grant is proof that the hard work of the Coalition is one of Flint’s unique success stories during this difficult time in Michigan."